Stages of Change-weight loss style

I work with at risk children, youth and families which means I often base my work around the stages of change model.  I have to see where a client is sitting within the stages before I can push/support them to make a change in their life.  This is where my head goes when I’m working on something I want to change as well.

I’m past the Pre-Contemplation stage- where you have no intention to change anything

I was teetering between the contemplation and planning stages for most of December.

Contemplation- aware of the problem but no commitment to change.

Preparation  (or Planning some call it)-intent on taking action to change.

I knew what the problem was (my weight/lack of self confidence due to my weight/my eating habits/my lack of exercise) and I wanted to change all of that, but it’s hard to commit.  Near the end of December I started planning on changing- started meal planning for January, planning time to meal prep and planned workouts into my schedule.

Now it’s time to Action this shit.  -actively modifying the behaviour that needs changing.

I am now working on the Action stage.  I have been working out daily (for 3 days ya’ll lol, but i’m working on actioning it), paying closer attention to what I’m eating and why i’m eating.  I just need to  ensure I do this so that it becomes habit so I can then move into the next stage which is,

Maintenance- sustain change, new behaviour replaces the old.

There is also this thing called Relapse.

What happened in December was a relapse- fall back into old patterns/behaviour.  This is also a very normal step in the stages of change, it’s often upsetting and disappointing. It doesn’t mean there isn’t hope.  I slipped back into not exercising, not eating well and just being lazy.  All sort of things can trigger this: for me, this time, it was getting sick.  I’ve gotten sick before and it hasn’t triggered me to turn back into a lazy ass.  You just never know for sure.

I sometimes hate that relapse is a normal part of the stages of change, but change takes a lot of work.  Relapse is also a time to look back and reflect from what went wrong the first, second, third (however many) attempts and try things differently the next time.  I’m sure I’ll hit a few more relapse’s and I’ll start over.  Like I said before, it’s hard to admit I’ve failed, but I don’t give up.

Where are you in your stage of change?

It’s hard to say you failed.

It’s been 16 days since I posted. I’ve been thinking about posting nearly every day, I still have this mental block  when it comes to writing and to posting.  I know I’ll go write about this, nah that’s actually a terrible story. OH i’ll update on my gym/fitness routine… nope haven’t been doing well- which doesn’t mean i couldn’t post.  I’ll tell them about all i’ve accomplished, oh wait, that’s close to nothing.

It’s hard to admit I’ve failed at something. It’s hard to say it in my own head, it’s hard to say it aloud to myself and it’s harder to say it to anyone else.   But I’m doing it.

I failed in December.

I started and stayed motivated in November with my menu planning, bi-weekly grocery shopping, meal prep, working out.  I even worked an extra 60 hours in November on top of my normal 43 hour work week.   I was at work for 12-16 hours some days in November, I may not have had time to workout some of those days, but I sure as hell had time to meal plan and prep my meals so I ate healthy and didn’t over eat.

But then December came, I really didn’t do so bad with sweets and food.  yeah Christmas eve and day were a bit much on the food (my brother is a chef, so the food was, AMAZING, as you can see below)

 

but i just couldn’t exercise or plan out my meals the same. I was sick for 2 weeks which didn’t help the situation, but it just completely ruined my motivation for the month.

I’m still weighing in under 160lbs (swings between 157-159), but I’m also trying to not base how I feel on what the scale says.

I failed in December, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve given up.

 

 

I Weigh in day 6: The Blahs

I’m late in writing this blog post again, as I was still sick all weekend.  while begin sick, we were also dog sitting 2 dogs. So the weekend was busy of feeling like crap and trying to tire out the 2 high energy dogs that were visiting.  I did have movements of feeling alright-usually while out in the cold at the dog park.

on the way to the dog park 

I weighed in Friday

158

Zero change.  Better than up.

I just feel a little, no a lot, BLAH.  Aside from feeling crappy from being sick for so long, I just am tired and feel even worse after I exercise.  I’ve still been going to my basketball games and working out with Laura, but haven’t been doing anything extra since I feel so crappy right after working out.

Feeling Blah has also made my blogging close to nonexistent. I have 9 blogs in my drafts that I started mid week and never got back to finishing.  I’ve had some funny stories, some life experiences and just some ranting to share, but I can’t seem to do it.  I even started some Christmas cards, but guess what didn’t finish them to send them out in time.

The Blahs have taken over me this December.

Weigh in day 5:I’m sick

Sooooo I did close to no exercise this week, but I’ve been pretty under the weather. My nose is looking similar to Rudolph’s and I’ve felt crappier as the day has progressed. I wanted to post this blog before I fall asleep while it’s still Friday. 

I did weigh in this morning not expecting much,

This week: 158

Last week 158.8

so i’m down .8 lbs this week. Better than the scale going up and for laying on the couch shivering.  So I will pay Steph $25 to put on her credit card and then kick this illness in the butt so that I can lose a pound next week to make her pay more towards that debt. Anyhow

Even though I wasn’t feeling super we decided to attend my work Christmas party for a bit. I took one selfie before my Tylenol cold faded away and we decide to head home.

    
We have plans to workout with Laura tomorrow, but at the point I’m going to have to wake up and see how I feel. I’m currently in fleece PJs, under a down blanket with a cat curled up on me and I’m still freezing. So here’s hoping I warm up and sleep this away.  

Wondering what other at home remedies anyone else uses when they’re sick? 

Weigh in Day 4: not a super week

I didn’t have the best week.  I started 2 blog post to post mid week, but then didn’t finish either of them. I found it extremely hard to fit in my workouts and stick to eating well- mostly in the evenings.  Plus I’ve been out of town all weekend, thus the late post.  I did however bring my scale and my measuring tape so I could record my measurements.  I ‘m going to post my measurements in another post this week as my moms computer is so slow that it’s taken me ages to write this first blurb,so Making a small chart seems impossible.

Last weeks weight: 157.4

This week: 158.4

a total of 4 pounds this month (which averages out to a 1 pound a week so that’s positive!)

+1 pound! I didn’t freak out, it’s only 1 pound.  i know I can do better, and I know some of the foods I ate this week weren’t the greatest.  Not the end of the world.  My mom took a look at me and said “You’ve lost weight”   I asked her where she thought from. My face and mid section.  I’m alright with that!

I a

The part I find hard is not being home since Thursday night. I brought my running clothes, but I have yet to go for a run.  I find it very hard to fit in workouts when I come home for a weekend.  I want to visit my family and friends.  I usually spend the entire weekend running all over town to visit or go to appointments and find myself more exhausted by Monday then I was on Friday.  One thing we do is take my dog to the dog park here, my parents will usually come as well so at least we’re all getting a little exercise in.

My workouts for the remainder of the week:

Sunday-short run with Koda

Monday- Gym night

Tuesday- Run

Wednesday-Basketball

Thursday-Gym

I will be doing a bunch of meal prepping tonight once we get home to prepare for a good week.

Weigh in Day 3: slow and steady

I usually try to have my treat/cheat meal on Friday or Saturday, AFTER weigh in day, but this week it happened to take place Thursday evening. Thursday also being the only day that I’ve felt hungry none stop in the past 3 weeks.  I ate a bit more than planned, but all healthy choices-except for my chicken brie and fig sandwich (minus skin) and yam fries (healthier right??? lol) it was so worth it for my cheat meal.   I still felt good about how I ate for the day.

but I was a little nervous that the meal, plus a few extra calories from extra snacks would completely ruin my weigh in.  Hopped on the scale this morning.

Last week: 159.8

This week: 157.4

That means I’m down 1.4 pounds this week, slow and steady the weight is disappearing, which is super especially after eating a cheat meal the 12 hours before.   This also means Steph has to put $50 extra on her credit card-  I have yet to hear her confirmation of completing this, but I’ll make sure that gets done!  Next week I will weigh in and do measurements. I didn’t post them, but I did take them at my starting weight.

I am feeling confident that I can keep this up until I’m back at my ideal weight.  I am hoping to get back to this weight by January 22 as that’s when I have a week off and head to the Bahamas for a friends wedding.  Thinking about wearing bathing suites for a week is motivation to get my butt moving almost every day.

I’m also looking forward to December to have more time to focus on fitness.  I picked up an extra 60 hours at my casual job this past month.  Often I work these extra shifts after my normal job which means I have a 14-16 hour day, or I’ll sometimes pick up an extra 12 hour shift on a Sunday- like I have coming up this Sunday.  This doesn’t leave a lot of time for workouts, so those days I really focus on my meals and sticking to what I’ve planned and packed to eat.   I think I have 1 extra shift in December so I will have more time to dedicate to my half marathon training and working out in general.

The plan for this week:

Friday: Workout with Laura (Laura being my roommate/trainer)

Saturday: Workout with Laura and short 3-4km run with Koda.

Sunday: I work 11-11, but have made plans with my old running buddy Jill to meet at 9am to attempt our old 6.whatever Km run. Then I’ll head to work.

Monday- I took a day off of work to book a bunch of doctors appointments, so once I’m done those for the day the plan is 8km run with Koda in the afternoon.

Tuesday- Work 15 hours, just get in the normal morning walk with Koda.

Wednesday- pack in a short run right after work before Volunteering at the Food Bank

Thursday- Haven’t decided yet, I have a basketball game, but I may be driving home a day early for the weekend.  I’m going see how I feel later in the week, might be a good day for another rest day.

Here’s to another busy and great weekend ahead.

Weigh in day 2: Is it a positive or a positive?

Weighed in this morning and it’s one of those positive negative positive situations. How every you choose to look at it.

Weighted in at 159.2

so that’s down -.06 lb

So that’s POSITIVE, but it’s not the 1lb goal I have set for each week which is negative, BUT means I will be paying (a measly) $25 towards my lady’s shrinking debt.   so that’s still a positive in my mind as I still lost some weight and we’re getting rid of her debt.

I’m still really happy with my weight loss. I had another BUSY week working a little too much between my 2 jobs.  I stuck to my diet except for one evening had a larger snack and a treat, but shit. I was eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and feeling like crap about it so I can’t even feel bad this week!

I only got 2 runs in this week totally 7.88km, but both were faster times than the last few times I ran so there’s another positive.

Koda leading the way on one of our runs.

 

My plan for the next week:

Friday- Training with Laura

Saturday- Training with Laura and short run 4-5km run in the river valley

Sunday- Longer Run with Koda  and Soccer game

Monday- I work 15 hours no planned workout

Tuesday- Spin class (unless I work late) or Gym night

Wednesday- Basketball game

Thursday- short run before work with Koda as I work LATE

My running goal for this week since I didn’t meet last weeks is to run a total of 15km. Very doable!

10 Things to do When Training for a Half Marathon

I signed up for my next Half Marathon. It is May 8 and it is in DISNEYLAND!!! doing the Tinkerbell half with one of besties.  It’s her first half, so figured lets make it a fun ass girls trip (so she can have a weekend break from her lovely little ones) where it’s warmer than where we live.

The last half I did was  The SeaWeeze Half Marathon (lululemon) which was nearly a year and a half ago. The only training I did for it was a 10k the Sunday before and said “Guess that’ll do”.  I would never recommend not training for a race.  You can injure yourself that way, but to be honest I’ve never trained 100% for any of the half marathons I’ve ran. I’ve trained well for most of them, but never completed every training run.

So since I’ve been such a lazy couch slob for like a year I’m slowly working at building up my endurance up again.  I’ve been running 3-4 km at least 3 times a week and slowly adding distance or increasing the pace.   I’m doing this because I have a month and a half before I start my 4 months of “hard core” training  that I am going to follow through with.  Plus it gives me time to start working on my training to dos.

Here’s my list of to do’s when training for a Half Marathon ( or any race)

1. Make you sure you have a really good pair of runners.  It actually makes a huge difference.  If you can afford to go to a specialty running store where they watch you run while on a treadmill and fit the shoes to you, do it.  Wear them for training and the run.
2.  10’s & 1’s.  Run 10 minutes and walked 1 min.  I think it’s an awesome way to train, especially when you are like fml how am I gonna run 18km.
3. IF, and I really mean IF, you find you don’t have time/can’t get a run in one day…the MOST IMP’T run is the LONG DISTANCE…you have to get your km’s in, so just make sure you do that one….every single week.  Life happens, things get in the way, we get lazy, have excuses. Don’t miss your long run!
4. STRETCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot stress that enough.   Get a foam roller/tennis balls/bands….just seriously stretch (especially your glutes and calves after EVERY RUN) even if you don’t feel tight……seriously……it will help!!
5. Epson salt baths truly are helpful for us runners as they help in relieving joint pain, reduce inflammation, relieve muscle pain and cramps.
6. A great outfit.  lol I don’t just mean a great looking outfit, although I usually treat myself to a cute new one for a race, I mean one that feels right to you.  I CANNOT stand running when, for example, my pants feel like they’re falling off, the tag is scratching me or I’m too hot.  I’d rather start out shivering at the start line then feeling like I need to strip out of my clothes.
7. A great play list and add that will play it.  My last half marathon I was 10km in when my phone just died.  It was fully charged before, but apparently was just not up to working that day.  Let me say it was a challenging 11.1km for me.
8. Visit your: Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, Acupuncturist and or Physiotherapist.   They become my best friends while I’m training, keeping me healthy before, during and after training.
9. EAT! I do run to help aid in weight loss, but I can’t even explain how much more I eat when I’m running 25+km a week.  Stick to those proteins and tons of veggies if you’re wanting to lose weight and treat yourself to a carbo-load before long runs.  When I say long runs I mean 15+KM.
10. Drink you’re water. More than you normally would. Much easier to get dehydrated when you’re sweating so much while running that you stop sweating.

What things are your running training to do list?

 

 

 

Weigh in day 1- who’s paying extra on the credit card?

Week one of the credit card payment bribe/bet is complete, as today is weigh in day.

If I don’t lose a pound I pay an extra $25 onto Stephs credit card, if I lose a pound she puts $50 onto it.  So who’s paying extra today????

It’s not going to be me!

Weighed in at: 159.8

Which means a total weight loss of: 2.6 pounds

This is awesome, considering I had two work days of 15 hours where I didn’t work out besides walking Koda before work and a few of my planned workouts weren’t as intense as i had planned.

I tried hard to stick to my meal planning and for the most part did very well.  Only one day this week I didn’t know how to input my meals into MyFitnessPal as I didn’t cook or know what was in the food at all.  I also feel like i’m not craving sugar as much.  2pm is still a hard time of day,  but that’s when I whip out a healthy snack like cottage cheese and fruit which curbs my sweet cravings.

Also got some workouts in at home but the pets sure like to make it hard to do any floor work (abs, stretching etc)

Koda and Bugsy “joining in” on some partner russian twists.

My plan for the next week: (I walk Koda Mon-Fri mornings so dog park or running with him is extra)

Friday- Training with Laura

Saturday- Training with Laura and short run with Koda

Sunday- Run with Koda

Monday- I work 15 hours no planned workout

Tuesday- Home gym workout, work and volunteering at the food bank that night so it will be a short workout.

Wednesday- Run with Koda after work.

Thursday- Gym night- decide what to do one there, see what’s busy or not.

My running goal for this week (since I’ve signed up for my next Half Marathon and will post soon about that) is to run 4-5km each run with Koda. Last week I was doing 3km to warm up to running again.

Looking forward to an active week!

 

 

How quick will I see changes?

I AM SORE.  My butt hurts, my legs are stiff, my arms are sore, but damn does it feel so good! It’s that kind of soreness that means your body has been pushed hard. I had a great weekend filled with exercise.  Just as I planned, the Saturday morning training session with my roommate was cancelled due to being locked out of the gym, but I made up for it with an evening run after work.

Sunday was busy, a few hours of raking leaves and cleaning up the yard for winter, another run with Koda and then my first game of indoor soccer in 12 years.  I literally had to dust off my cleats, which still fit.

One changed I’ve already seen in myself after JUST ONE WEEK is my energy level.  I’m not nearly as tired as I was, I’m more motivated to want to be active or even just to do things around the house and I can actually wake up when my alarm goes off (something I’ve only had trouble with when living a lazy lifestyle).  Obviously I would love to step on the scale this Friday and it magically be at my ideal weight, but that is something that will take a little more time than just one week.

Truly some changes happen quickly.  Maybe the change isn’t on the scale, but maybe you’re now drinking 8 glasses of water a day, getting 30 minutes of exercise a day or maybe you’re just feeling happier.  Really its up to you to be the judge of what changes you see, whether they be physical, mental or emotional.

Besides having more energy already, I’ve made a change in meal planning/grocery shopping and meal prepping.  I’ve been planning out the menu for 2 weeks at a time.  This includes breakfast, lunch, 2 snacks and dinner.  This even includes a few dinners out that were planned with friends.  We then go shopping for those 2 weeks of food in one go and  then prep breakfasts, snacks and some lunch’s on Sundays.  It’s already been so much easier to not have to worry about what to make or grab for lunch last minute.  This has also helped me stay within my calories (or just slightly over) for the day on myfitnesspal.  I want it to be Friday already to see if I’ve had any results on the scale yet. Also to see who’s going to be the first to make the extra credit card payment, time will tell.